The Primer
The primer page is designed to answer many of your frequently asked questions concerning parchment, the founding documents, and the Patrigraphica process.
Q: What is genuine parchment?
A: The treated and stretched skin of an animal whether it be calf, goat, sheep, or deer. Patrigraphica uses calfskin (vellum) because that was the material of choice for the original founding documents.
Q: How is genuine parchment different from “parchment” sold at many gift shops and hobby stores?
A. Most so-called genuine parchment and vellum is made from wood pulp and has been chemically treated to look old. In other words, it is imitation parchment marketed as genuine.
Q. What is the color of the parchment used by Patrigraphica?
A. The color varies from antique cream to warm honey. Each skin contains unique combinations of subtle waves, vein shadows, and occasional follicle specks. These are features, not flaws — they are the same qualities present in the original Declaration of Independence at the National Archives.
Q: What is the difference between the ‘Full’ and ‘Common’ sizes?
A. The color varies from antique cream to warm honey. Each skin contains unique combinations of subtle waves, vein shadows, and occasional follicle specks. These are features, not flaws — they are the same qualities present in the original Declaration of Independence at the National Archives.
Q: Does every document come with a certificate of authenticity?
A: Yes. Every Patrigraphica document includes a signed certificate of authenticity documenting the calfskin parchment material, the production process, and the Patrigraphica quality standard. For the Semiquincentennial Collection, the certificate also includes the individual edition number.
Q: What are the different printing methods?
A: Giclee is electronic printing with archival inks. Letterpress hand-printed using a cylinder press and a zinc plate with raised lettering. Intaglio is hand printed using a cylinder press and a copper plate with etched lettering. The famous William Stone and Peter Force editions were produced using the intaglio method.
Q: How did Patrigraphica find a way to achieve crisp, high-resolution glicee prints?
A: Parchment is resistant to electronic printing. The skins require special preparation before and after the printing process. In perfecting the technique, many skins were spoiled. The process that emerged is exclusive to Patrigraphica — developed over years and refined through failure and precision.
Q: How does Patrigraphica know it was the first to produce parchment prints of the Declaration of Independence since 1824 and the first to produce parchment prints of the Constitution and Bill of Rights since the late 1700s?
A: After extensive research, no information to the contrary has been found. If you are aware of previous parchment reproductions other than the aforementioned, please let us know.
Q: Why do the Patrigraphica reproductions measure larger than the originals?
A: The text body is reproduced at the same size as the originals. However, the margins are wider to accommodate framing. If you want the document to match the exact dimensions of the original, your framer can trim the margins accordingly.
For More Information…
For more information about the Founding Documents, we recommend you begin at the National Archives
https://visit.archives.gov/whats-on/founding-documents
For information about rare facsimiles of the Declaration, Seth Kaller has an interesting breakdown here
https://www.sethkaller.com/freedomdocuments/declaration-of-independence/
The Founding Documents
Each document is available in distinguished editions
Declaration of Independence
The first full-size calfskin parchment reproduction of the Declaration of Independence since the William Stone copies of 1823.
U.S. Constitution
The first known full-size calfskin parchment reproduction of all four pages of the United States Constitution.
Bill of Rights
The first full-size calfskin parchment reproduction of the Bill of Rights since the original 14 state copies were commissioned.
The Founding Documents
Each document is available in distinguished editions
Declaration of Independence
The first full-size calfskin parchment reproduction of the Declaration of Independence since the William Stone copies of 1823.
U.S. Constitution
The first known full-size calfskin parchment reproduction of all four pages of the United States Constitution.
Bill of Rights
The first full-size calfskin parchment reproduction of the Bill of Rights since the original 14 state copies were commissioned.